Animal Crossing: Portrait
by Dragonworkz
Summary: Dragon has just moved to Portrait, a boring country town. Dragon's a bit anti-social and doesn't like anyone or anything. But living at Portrait teaches him the true values of tragedy, friendship, and love. A drama story.
1. The Outsider

The bus stopped to a creak as the passenger got on. His name was Dragon. Well… not really. His real name was Tyler but he preferred to be called Dragon.

It was about 7:06 a.m. right then. Dragon figured it to be the best time to move. Nice and early. As Dragon trudged along the bus he noticed a blue-furred cat sitting in a seat. The cat smiled at him. "Hello there! Sit here." He patted the seat with his paw.

Dragon reluctantly sat. He figured if he didn't say anything, he wouldn't be bothered. He was wrong.

"My name's Rover. What's yours?" Dragon could feel irritation welling up inside of him. He wasn't a very social kid. Actually he was only 14, but was on his own due to reasons better left unspoken. He had short brown hair, a purple knit cap which he never took off, and a reggae shirt to match.

"Dragon. It's Dragon." he muttered. Rover narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of name is Dragon?"

"That's just what I'm called okay?" he said irritably. Rover smiled.

"Not very social are ya?"

"Why should I be?"

"Well, all I'm sayin' is you'll need it in a place like Portrait eh?" Dragon stared blankly at him. The name of the town had remained a mystery to him this entire time.

"Portrait….? What kind of name is that?"

"Dunno. Why? Somethin' wrong with it? Y'know I've been to Portrait A LOT. It's a nice place!"

"Whatever. I'm sure it is."

Rover started laughing. "Oh! Looks like we're about to arrive! Man that was short wasn't it? Well this is where we cross paths!" Thank goodness, Dragon thought. "Seeya!"

Dragon grunted as he hauled his bags off the bus.

He plopped on the ground and scanned the new town. Portrait. Man, it was quiet. That was the most glaring aspect of it. Green everywhere with numerous trees, quite a few buildings, and a long river stretching down to an ocean.

Dragon saw a sign close next to him.

New Residents please report to the town hall.

Scribbled to the right of it was a map with a 'You Are Here' dot leading to the Town Hall. Dragon picked up his bags and went.


	2. The Name's DRAGON

The Town Hall was pretty nice looking all in all. It was made entirely out of wood, with a machine in the left corner, a bin in the right, and a smiling clerk behind an 'Employees Only' wall. Behind the clerk was a turtle snoozing. He looked about in his 70's. Dragon walked up to the clerk. He noted that she was a pelican. Back in his old town, there were no animals. Especially ones that talked.

"Hello dear. Name?"

"Dragon."

"Is that your actual name? I need actual, honey." Ignoring the fact that she called him honey, Dragon replied, "Tyler Demmings." She scrawled writing in pen on a piece of paper.

"Alright! Welcome to Portrait Tyler-"

"It's **Dragon**."

"Dragon. Welcome. We have 4 houses available to you here in Portrait. Which would you like? She showed Dragon pictures of each. He thought carefully and then picked the second one. It had a red roof, and Dragon liked the color, so what the heck?

"Alright Dragon, just head over to the house and go from there. Here's a map. You can keep it." Dragon grabbed the map. That should come in handy. He exited the building silently.

Dragon stood in front of the house impatiently. Apparently, someone was supposed to be here so he could buy the house but no one was here, of course. Dragon sighed. To kill time, he went in the house to check it out. It was very simple. Just a wood floor and concrete wall. That was going to change when he bought it.

He walked back outside, planning placing of furniture.

"HELLO THERE!"

Dragon jumped back. It was a raccoon. He was brown furred, different for a raccoon, and was wearing a blue apron with a faded white leaf symbol on it.

"Who're you supposed to be…?" Dragon asked. The raccoon's face turned serious.

"You don't know who I am? Well… actually… why would you? You just moved here, yes? I am Tom Nook, the store owner here. I'm quite well known y'know. And you are?"

"Dragon."

"Is that your-

"Just call me Dragon."

"Well okay! If you insist, DRAGON." He started giggling to himself while Dragon stared at him blankly.

"Ahem. Anyways, you were wanting this home, correct?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Alright then. Let's see…" He pulled out a pen and paper and started writing. "Alrighty then… if I add all of this up, it comes out to…" he paused for about 15 seconds, "19,800 Bells!" Dragon gave Tom a blank stare.

"Well, did ya hear me Dragon? Pay up, yes?" Dragon thought the raccoon was kidding but apparently not.

"Bells?"

"Yes kiddo! Bells. A marvelous invention used to buy things." He said sarcastically.

"Wait… so the currency here is… **Bells**?"

"You didn't know this, hm? Well your new yes? Hohohohho!" Dragon glared at him.

"Ahem. Anyways. I need the payment yes? Fork it over!"

Dragon stared at him again. Tom grinned.

"You mean you don't have any?" Dragon slowly shook his head. Tom Nook burst out with joy.

"Well then you can work with me! Part time, yes?" Dragon crossed his arms.

"No way am I working for a stupid raccoon!" Tom smiled deviously.

"Okay then! Just live on the streets, yes?" Dragon tried to stay un-moved but he couldn't.

"Ugh… fine. Whatever. Let's get this over with."

Tom sprinted downhill. "Come Mr. Dragon, I can call you that, yes? My shop is this way!"

Slowly, reluctantly, Dragon trudged down hill to start his new life in Portrait.


	3. Meet the animals, yes?

Dragon found the shop. It was quite pathetic looking. It was about as big as his old room, made entirely out of wood, and had a big gap in the opening instead of a door. The sign on the front was white with a leaf symbol and read in big letters, 'Nook's Cranny'.

_So that's what it's called, _Dragon thought to himself. He got ready to walk into the entrance when a hand shoved him. It was Tom's.

"What're you doing Mr. Dragon?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Fine. What're you doing Dragon?"

"Coming in… to work… like you ordered. Ring a bell?"

"I would like some bells but no, it doesn't. Dragon, you need to meet the people here before you start working! It's common sense, yes?"

Dragon glared at him. Meet the people. Yeah right. Like he was going to do that.

"No-

Tom pointed at Dragon's house and shook his head. Dragon got the message. Meet them, or no house. He was starting to hate Nook more and more.

"Fine then…" he grumbled. As he walked away, Tom called behind him, "Make sure you meet the mayor, yes? It's very important!" Dragon continued walking silently.

First on the map was Alice. Dragon trudged up to her house and was surprised to find her standing in front of her house. Maybe they do this with new guests. Must be habit.

Dragon walked up to her. She was a bright yellow Koala Bear with a barber colored dress on. She seemed nice enough. _But hey, like I care. _Dragon thought.

"Um… hello. I'm Dragon, just moved here." Alice stared at him for a minute with a calculating look.

"OH! I've heard of you! You're the guy who moved today. Word spreads around fast, guvnor." Dragon was surprised. Not only did she not question his name, thank god, but she had a weird word at the end of her sentence… a catchphrase maybe?

"So, do you like it here?" Alice quipped. Dragon was jolted out of thinking.

"Well, I can't really say. Just moved and all."

Alice nodded her head like she understood.

"That's fine. All of us will treat you like family!" She smiled. Dragon didn't know if he liked the thought.

"Well, bye."

"Bye Dragon! Hope I see you soon, guvnor!" There it was again… 'Guvnor…' Did all animals say it?

Next was Hopper. Dragon was going in order from the top of the town to bottom. He walked up to Hopper who was also standing outside.

Hopper was a black penguin, except he was those kinds of penguins that have yellowish eyebrows on them… whatever they were called. He had red eyes, creepy, and wore a light orange shirt with a picture of a monkey on it.

"Hello. I'm Dragon, just moved here." Dragon didn't care. He was going to keep saying the same quote to every animal.

"Ah! Just now noticed you Dragon. Must be old age catching up to me." Actually, he didn't look or sound old. Sounded like uh… mid 30's maybe, whereas Alice sounded like a teenager.

"Um, yeah, so… nice to meet you." Dragon muttered.

"Good to meet you. Portrait IS awesome. Believe me, slushie!" Eh? There it was! Another catchphrase! All of them had one probably. Dragon didn't know why it annoyed him so much.

Dragon said bye and moved on to the next animal… Stinky. Ironic thing was Stinky was Dragon's neighbor. _Wonder if his name suits him…_ Dragon thought.

Stinky was interesting. He was a light green cat, odd, with a blue and red wrestler's mask, also odd, that revealed only his eyes, mouth, and ears. His shirt was purple and orange with a bunch of lines on it.

"Hello there. I'm the new guy, Dragon."

"Seriously? The one everyone's been talking about? What's sup Dragon?!" He sounded like a 17 year old. This was getting odd…

"So we're neighbors huh?"

"Yeah, looks like it." Stinky retreated to his house.

"Okay then, I got to get back to the tube and finish watching Extreme Wrestling Moves! Seeya around, GAAHHH!" Dragon, for some reason, actually reacted.

"You okay?!" Why in the world did it matter…?

"Yeah, why?" Dragon stared at him. Oh… must be his, er, catchphrase.

"Nothin'. Seeya."

Next was Jeremiah. He was right below Nook's. Jeremiah was a light blue, dark blue frog with a goofy grin on his face and a sunny looking T-shirt.

"Hello. I'm Dragon, the new guy."

"Hmmm? You're Dragon? Nice to meet you, nee-deep!" Next to Stinky's, Jeremiah's phrase was the weirdest.

"Well I hope we get to become good friends!" Jeremiah said. He sounded like a 19 year old. Dragon was good at guessing the ages depending on their voice.

Dragon yawned. "Yeah, same here." Dragon liked to have friends. Well, no, not really. Especially not ones who were animals. He wasn't snow white or something.

Next up was Bones. Hmm. Interesting.

Bones was a white dog. He had a brown spot circling his right eye and was wearing a dark yellow shirt that looked like a honey hive.

"Hello, Bones. I'm Dragon, the new resident." Bones smiled at him in a childish way.

"Awww sweet! I've been wanting to meet you! Hello, yip yip!" Bones bounded upon Dragon and gave him a bear hug.

First off, Bones was a little kid. He sounded like he was 9 or 10 maybe, which explained the energy.

Second, why was he being hugged?

Dragon stood there, not really trying to hug back. Bones latched himself off of him. "Well, let's be friends Dragon!" Dragon was happy about one thing. The normal animals weren't questioning his alias.

"Yeah, yeah." Dragon said, as convincing as he could manage.

Next was Portia who was Bone's neighbor. He located her easily enough. Portia was also a dog, Dalmatian actually, and wore a purple knit dress.

"Portia, hello. I'm Dragon." Portia smiled kindly at him. She seemed as nice as Alice, but less hyper.

"Oh, hello Dragon. Nice to meet you, ruffian. Are you enjoying your stay?" She was about, Dragon guessed, 15… maybe? Hard to tell.

"For the most part, yes. I'm working for Tom though to pay off the money for my house." Dragon was actually making small talk. Unusual.

"Oh, well that must be tiring! Well, if you ever need anything, ask me okay?" Dragon nodded. He wasn't used to this kind of kindness and didn't really accept it much yet.

Next on the list, there wasn't that many left, was Ed. Ed was a rich blue colored horse with a poka-dot shirt and semi-long blonde hair. For an odd reason, he had a purple mark on the top of his left eye. His right eye was covered by his long hair.

"Hello Ed. I'm Dragon, the new guy you heard about." Ed was lifting weights and didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Uh… hello?" Dragon said. Ed dropped the weights.

"Sorry about that Dragon. I was in my Pecs Zone, greenhorn." Ed was probably about 18.

"Pecs… Zone?"

"Yeah, just forget it. So whatsup!"

"Nothing. Anyways, I've gotta get going. Chores to run and all."

"I know what you mean, greenhorn. One time, my…" Ed rambled on while Dragon went to the next animal, Felicity.

Felicity was a white cat with red-orange hair that reached down to her ears and circled around her head. She wore a green top with flowers on it. Felicity gasped when Dragon walked up.

"Omigosh! Lemme guess. You're…"

"Dragon."

"I WAS GONNA SAY THAT Y'KNOW, mimimi!" She yelled. She fell on her back laughing and peered up at dragon.

"Hehe, sorry. I'm just laughing outta no where." She stood up and held out her hand.

"I'm Felicity. Pleased to meet ya!" She sounded about 13. Dragon reluctantly shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you… Felicity." She smiled and pulled a dramatic pose.

"Any day is a good day when a person meets me!"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Anyways, see you."

"WAIT! Where are you going so soon, mimimi?"

"To meet other animals here."

"OH! Of course. Carry on!" Dragon wasn't sure about her.

The final animal on the list was Felicity's neighbor, Francine.

Francine was a rabbit, with sky blue fur and another poka-dot shirt.

Dragon walked up and waved. She looked at him like a puzzle.

"Dragon. Nice to meet you, karat." She seemed to be the oldest out of all the females, maybe 21 or so. She had a very demanding demeanor about her.

"Nice to meet you too, Francine." Dragon remarked. Francine cocked her head to one side.

"Where do you live anyways? Animals always ask this y'know. We have a lot of house parties here in Portrait." Dragon pulled out his map and held it up to her, pointing at the house.

"Ah, that's not too far. Animals will want to visit you, since your new and all. Anyways, I'll see you around. Visit sometime."

Dragon walked away. She seemed very wise, for some reason. Just the impression she gave.

The animals were all met. Last person was the mayor. Dragon ran to the town hall, eager to finish this meeting assignment. He found the mayor standing outside. He was a Turtle. He looked like any old Turtle and wore a top hat. He had glasses, a gray beard, and a wooden cane. This told Dragon that he was old.

"Hello Mr. Mayor. I'm the new resident, Dragon." The turtle stared at him blankly.

"Tell me young whipper snapper, what's your favorite animal?"

Dragon thought. He didn't really like any animals so he just named a random one.

"Cats." The Mayor started grumbling to himself, "Boy, you kids and your pointy ears and whiskers and what not." The turtle looked like he got hit by a brick.

"OOPS. Sorry. I'm just rambling. I'm Tortimer, the town mayor. Nice to meet you and all that, now if you'll excuse me, I have a lady to meet and her name is COFFEE!" Tortimer hobbled off away from the town hall. Dragon felt that this town would be all the more interesting with a mayor like that.

Running full speed, Dragon sped off back to the store.


	4. Just What It Needs

**Hello everyone! I've finally found out how to put comments up here. xD This is my first story here so go easy on me. I plan on making it long, so if people like long, drama stories, you've come to the right place! Author out. :D **

***

"Ah, you're finally back. Took you long enough, yes?" Dragon slowly walked into the battered old store. He realized he might not be able to do the jobs here because he was already worn out from meeting everyone.

"Hey, at least I did it." Dragon muttered. Tom Nook smiled like nothing was the matter.

"Anyways, you need a uniform, and I have just the one for you, yes?" Dragon observed silently as Tom rummaged in the back of the store until he piped, "Here it is!"

Dragon wasn't impressed. The uniform was a pale green T-shirt with yet another leaf symbol on it. It was pretty… simple.

"Is that leaf symbol your logo or something?" Dragon asked. Tom's eyes popped open.

"Why yes! It's a famous logo. Famous in this town anyways. You've never known that. Well, why would you? You're new, yes?"

Dragon tallied in his mind. He's made the same quote, 'Why would you? You're new, yes?' 3 times already. Creepy…

"Anyways, change! That dirty old reggae shirt looks stupid on you, hm." Dragon silently took off his reggae shirt and put on the uniform. It smelled like the shop… disgusting.

Tom pointed at Dragon's head, "And while you're at it, take off that hat-

"Not in a million years Nook. It never leaves my head."

"Are you sure?"

"**Yes**. I'm not taking it off."

"Fine. If it suits you, yes? Now your first job," he pulled out several bags of flowers, "Is to plant these flowers around my store. Just make it look pretty alright?" Dragon grabbed the bags and walked out.

Planting the flowers was tiring, as if he wasn't already tired. He was on the last bag of flowers when he noticed Hopper watching him. Dragon paused and leered at Hopper.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, sorry Dragon. But I couldn't help but notice… are you working for Tom, slushie?"

"What does it look like?"

"Ah, well y'know, you could've been doin' it to be nice. I don't know, slushie."

_Yeah, like I'd do that, _thought Dragon. Dragon kept planting as Hopper talked.

"Y'know, that Tom is a real hard worker." Dragon kept planting, "Really? He's annoying to me."

Hopper stared at Dragon.

"Ah, I might be just an old man for saying this, but Tom really has gone through a lot to get where he is today, slushie."

Dragon gestured at the store. "He worked hard to get to this?"

"Well, I think you should give him a chance Dragon. It was hard for him to start up this business, let alone afford it. He could use a guy like you, slushie. Actually…"

Dragon looked up. "What?" Hopper stared up at the afternoon sky as he talked.

"I talked to Tom while you were meeting everybody. And you know what he told me, slushie?"

Dragon shrugged.

"He told me he thinks you could be just what this town needs right now, slushie." Dragon narrowed his eyes.

"Do you even know what he meant by that?" Hopper lowered his gaze to Dragon,

"No, not really. But I'm sure we'll all find out soon… right, slushie?" Dragon stared at Hopper for a while and finally said,

"Maybe so. Maybe so."

Hopper yawned. "Well, I'd better be leavin' you now. I'm sure you're too busy to talk to me."

_Yeah. You just now noticed… _Dragon thought.

"Anyways, once you're done workin', visit me sometime. It'd be nice to chat."

"Uh… sure." Dragon muttered. Hopper walked away. Spot of the moment too, as Dragon finished his planting. He stood up and wiped the sweat off his brow. He wasn't used to this work. He used to live in a city, so this place wasn't good for him. Not like he had a choice.

**My Plan is to spend a lot of character development with Dragon and one animal in every chapter. That's my plan anyways. Make a review if you like it! Tell me what I should fix, all that good stuff. :P**


	5. Work and Talk

**To tell everyone the truth, this series may seem to start off slow. But as it goes along is when I can start adding more sadness and more story to it. Good news is, I had the first 5 chapters done when I started this on fanfiction, so that's why they've been uploaded so fast! :D**

Dragon entered the store and threw the bags in the trash.

"Done." Tom jumped and turned around, looking startled.

"Really? Boy that was fast, yes? Alright, and don't worry about your money. I'm keeping tabs on it. Now, your next job is to deliver this Kiddie Couch to Francine." Tom patted the big object. It was placed in cardboard, so Dragon couldn't see it, and was neatly placed on a roller.

"Okay. No sweat."

Tom wagged a finger at Dragon. "And don't go chattin' about either. This is work time! Not flirt time! Hehe. I crack myself up, yes?"

Dragon stepped back. "Flirt time. Yeah right. Like I would do that." Tom laughed at Dragon.

"Oh you would kiddo! You're a teen. What do you expect, yes?"

Tom continued to laugh as Dragon glared at him. Dragon grabbed the handle to the roller and started his trip.

By the time he got to Francine's house, he was practically soaking in sweat. This work was horrible!

He let go of the roller and knocked on Francine's door. No doorbell… of course.

Francine opened the door and looked blankly at Dragon.

"Yes, what is it?"

Dragon pointed at the box. Francine brightened up at once.

"Oh! My Kiddie Couch right? Why thank you, karat." She walked over to the box and glanced at Dragon.

"Well don't just stand there. Help me, karat!" Dragon grudgingly helped her with the box and placed it hard on the floor in her house. Francine waved. "Goodbye. I need some alone time so I can unpack this."

Dragon stared at her. Francine stared annoyingly back.

"Well, did you hear me?"

"Are you sure you don't need me to unpack it? It seems tall Francine…" For some reason, Dragon cared. Must've been because of the nice day out, even if it was tiring.

"I'm fine silly! I can take care of myself. Good day, karat!" Dragon silently left with roller and cardboard in tow.

"Nice work, yes?" Dragon sat down and took a breather. Tom stared.

"Oh ho ho! You aren't tired are you? This is the country Dragon. Man up, yes?" Dragon glared.

"I'm not used to this. Do you have like… water or something?"

"No, 'fraid not. You'll be fine though! Just help me do my work and maybe I'll give you some."

What was he trying to do, get him dehydrated?

"Right then! Your next task… write a letter to my best customer, Stinky!"

Dragon sighed. "Write a letter? Seriously? Why can't I just go tell him?"

"Because you won't get paid that way, that's why. Now here's some paper. It would be hard to write a letter without it, yes? Ho ho ho!" Tome handed Dragon a piece.

"So… what do I write?"

"Easy. Just tell 'im something like… Thank you for your continued patronage at Nook's Cranny. We hope to be seeing more of you, yes?"

Dragon scribbled it all down in about 30 seconds. He had a good memory.

"Now what?"

"Bring it to the town hall and get Pelly to send it! That easy, yes?"

Dragon sped off to the town hall, wanting to get this over with.

Pelly was in there smiling.

"Ah, I see you have a letter!" Dragon nodded and walked up to her, handing her the letter. She took it and gave it to a male pelican with a mail carrier bag.

Pelly turned around, "Will you be needing anything else?"

"No."

"Okay then. Have a nice day!"

_Nothing but work. _Dragon thought. He sped off to Tom's store, mentally and physically tired.

"I must say, Dragon, you're getting faster, yes?" Dragon stared back blankly.

"Just give me the next job Nook."

"Well you don't have to be pushy about it. Luckily for you, you only have three more jobs left." Dragon silently cheered in his head. Thank god! Then he could actually rest…

"Now, I need you to deliver this carpet to Bones!" Dragon accepted, eager to get the last three jobs done.

Dragon knocked on Bone's door, carpet in hand. Bones answered.

"Oh, hi Dragon!" Dragon finally got the statistics right for age here. The youngest was Bones at about 9 or 10. The oldest was Hopper who was in his 30's. Dragon liked to guess ages for people, and he was always accurate, never wrong. It was a habit of his.

"Oh, is that my carpet? Thanks Dragon, yip yip!" Dragon nodded his head towards Bone's house.

"Should I spread it for you?" He was feeling generous seeing as he only had a few jobs left.

Bones smiled, "Would you? Thanks! Come on in, yip yip." Dragon walked in. Bones house was a nice display of blue and white furniture, with a lot of toys in one corner. The TV was on showing a cartoon of a super hero dog.

Bones stood back. "Go ahead, yip yip! I can't wait to see it!" Dragon got to work, unrolling Bone's old carpet.

"So you work for Tom Nook, Dragon?" Dragon kept on working. The animals seemed to like to talk to him while he was busy working.

"No. I'm only working part time just so I can pay my house off. I only have two more jobs to do after this."

Bones cheered, "That's great! Then, once your done, you can visit and stuff, yip yip!" Dragon was uncomfortable around kids. His anti-social attitude made it awkward.

Dragon got to work on spreading Bone's carpet. It was a rich green color with a beautiful circular design on each corner. Dragon had to admit, Bones picked good.

Once he was all finished, Bones clapped. "That's amazing! It looks cool Dragon!"

Dragon nodded, not really caring. "Yeah." Bones rummaged around in his cabinet and got out a toy.

"Here Dragon! I know it isn't much, but it's the least I could do for your hard work, yip yip!" Dragon stared at the toy and took it. Why not?

Reluctantly, Dragon managed a thank you. Bones looked away shyly.

"Aww, no problem Dragon."

Dragon was actually impressed with Bones, which was a rare thing, him being impressed with anyone or anything. Bones, wherever his parents were, was handling living on his own okay. He was just a kid too! The teenagers in the town seemed responsible enough, but Bones was able to keep up with them from the looks of it.

_Not bad Bones. Not like I can help you though, now can I? _Dragon thought. No, he wasn't going to help Bones. He NEVER said that. He was just impressed. Nothing else.

"Bye Dragon!"

"Yeah, goodbye." Dragon walked out into the world, thinking how soon he was going to be free from all the work.

**Good ol' Bones. Like I said before hand, the story will pick up. It's meant to start kind of slow! :) Since I don't have the next chapter done yet, readers will have to be patient plz. :P**


	6. Freedom

Tom was waiting for Dragon impatiently at the door.

"What were you doing over there Dragon? Chattin' about the latest shirt company? Shake a leg, yes?" Dragon silently put Bone's toy in his pocket. "No, Bones was just chatty. Not like I wanted to."

"I'm sure you didn't, yes? It was 12:22 when you started and now it's 12:46! I guess I'll go easy on you though."

Dragon was surprised. Despite all the work, the day had been going along fast. It was already the afternoon…

"Alright! Attention! Your next assignment will be… to deliver this watering can to Stinky! He's right up the hill so there will be no excuse for taking long."

Dragon grabbed the watering can and headed to Stinky's house.

Doing the same routine, he knocked on the door and gave the can to Stinky.

"Oh, I ordered this from Tom! Why're you bringing it here Dragon?"

Dragon got impatient. He didn't want another lecture from Tom again.

"I'm working part-time at the store so I can pay my house off. But after this, I only have one more job to do."

Stinky's eyes widened. "Seriously? Then get goin' man! You gotta get some freedom in your lungs, GAAHHH!" Stinky's catchphrase always caught Dragon off guard. Dragon quickly headed back downhill to the store.

"See? Now that's more like it, yes?" Dragon stood waiting impatiently for his last assignment.

"Alright. Your final assignment and you're done. Luckily, it's an easy one, yes?" Dragon nodded. _Carry on, raccoon. I don't have all day._

"Alright. I need you to advertise my shop on the bulletin board by the town hall. Make it catchy. Something the animals will chat about over the water-cooler, yes?" Dragon headed out without saying a word. Let's get this finished!

Dragon walked up to the bulletin board. It was made out of wood with a bunch of papers pinned on by tack. In the left and right corners were jars with pens and tacks respectively. In the middle was a stack of paper.

Dragon grabbed the paper and pen and started writing,

Dear readers,

Come on down to Tom Nook's. Not only is there plenty of furniture, there's also plants, equipment, clothing, and a whole lot more. So come on down. You won't regret it, believe me.

Dragon

More like don't believe me. Dragon was lying about a lot of this. In fact, he never really paid attention to what Tom had for sale. He didn't really care either. It wasn't like it mattered. What did matter was that he was free to relax now! He was done!

Dragon grabbed a tack and pounded it against the paper onto the board. Running as fast as he could, he sprinted to Nook's.

Dragon ran into the store.

"Done!"

"Oh, you are? Yes, done! Good job Dragon. Now you have your house. You'll find that you can liven it up a little with-

Dragon walked out. Tom stared at the open space to his shop for a while then thought to himself,

_He may be inconsiderate, but there's something about him, yes? Like I said… he's just what this town needs._

Tom chuckled silently to himself as he went to clean up the store.


	7. Advice

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay on this story to be updated. I went back to school from Spring Break and I've been busy to say the least. Anyhow, since I was gone so long, I'm updating this chapter and another one today. Basically, two new chapters in one day! Awesome, eh? Anyways, enjoy!**

Dragon was at his house in an instant. As soon as he got in, he put necessary furniture and his supplies around the house. As soon as that was over, Dragon flopped on the bed and sighed. Relaxation! There was nothing better. But, as he was about to learn, there wasn't much relaxation in his future yet.

Dragon heard a beeping noise just outside his house. _Strange… _he thought. Dragon got up, opened the door and looked out. The beeping was louder. Dragon found out it was coming from the house's mailbox. The mailbox was red in color, with a blue tag on it that was raised and had a blinking white mail icon flashing and… beeping. Dragon opened the mailbox and surprisingly, there was a letter.

It was from Stinky… Dragon opened the envelope and read.

Dear Dragon,

Whatsup man? Come visit me. I wanted to talk to ya if that's alright with you.

Stinky

Dragon walked to Stinky's. He was hoping this wouldn't take long. Dragon knocked on Stinky's door and waited. Stinky answered fast.

"There you are! Come on in, GAAHHH!" Dragon walked sullenly in. He was in a bad mood, being disturbed from his rest and relaxation.

Stinky patted the couch. "Have a seat. I'll get you a soda." Dragon sat down and stared out the window while he waited.

"Here you are! Nice and cold, GAAHHH." Dragon snatched the soda from Stinky and took three gulps of it before speaking,

"So… what did you need?" Dragon quietly asked. Stinky smiled.

"Actually, I noticed that you finished your job at Nook's so I just wanted to say that, since your done, you shouldn't be resting in your house and staying in there. Stay out for the day. Talk to all of us. Get to know us. After all, you have time now, correct?"

_No, I really don't. I don't want to talk to any of you weird animals… _Dragon thought.

"I don't know. I'm tired."

Stinky stared at him. "True. But that's the country for ya. It wouldn't hurt to talk to everyone! Just make conversation, GAAHHH!"

_Sure Stinky. Just what I'm good at. _Dragon didn't like the thought of making conversation with the animals, much less to even speak to them.

"Well? Don't you think?" Stinky asked.

"No." Dragon snapped, "I just don't want to alright?" Dragon sighed as Stinky gave him a sad look.

"Are you okay Dragon?"

"No. I just need some rest. Okay?" Dragon said impatiently. Stinky looked away slowly.

"Alright. Well… if you ever need anything, just come here. Heh."

Dragon nodded his head and left. _Stinky, you may mean well, but I'm not like any of you. I'd rather be back at my old house, watching TV, but I'm stuck here, in this dump. It should be easy to understand, but apparently it isn't._

Dragon flopped onto his bed and fell asleep, dreaming about his old life.

**Boy oh boy. Dragon is still the only mean one in town. I'm liking chapter 8. I think that's my best, so if you're ready to read more, go on!**


	8. Wonders

**My favorite chapter so far! Don't know why, but what does it matter? Enjoy! **

Dragon woke up with a start as the bell of Portrait rang quietly outside. He checked his bedside clock. 9:07 a.m.

He had been asleep for about 18 hours. Geez, he really was tired.

Dragon stretched and put on his shoes, walking out. The mailbox light was blinking again. Dragon opened it and made an annoyed look when he saw the sender: Stinky.

Hey Dragon. Sorry about yesterday. Didn't know you were so tired. Well… see ya around.

Stinky

Dragon stared at his neighbor's house, then put the letter back in the mailbox and walked off to the store.

"Dragon! Welcome back, yes?" Tom smiled at Dragon as he entered.

"Let me guess… you're here to work for me full-time, hm?"

"In your dreams. I came to buy some flowers. Maybe a piece of furniture if you got any."

"No problem! Right this way." Tom walked about 2 feet then stopped in front of a small wooden stack with 5 bags of flowers on it.

"I never pegged you as a flower guy, Dragon." Tom piped.

"Well don't get the wrong idea."

"Sure. How many bags would you like?"

"Just one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Just one."

"Okay then. That's 80 bells. I slipped some cash in your pockets when you weren't looking, yes? I believe a thanks is in order!"

Dragon gave the 80 bells to Tom without thanking him and grabbed a bag.

"Delighted to see you too! Come again, hm?"

Dragon walked up to Stinky's door, and found a sign that said,

I'm catchin' some Z's right now. See you when I'm done!

Stinky

Dragon was pleased at the timing. He got to work on the flower. Digging a hole with his old shovel, Dragon placed the seeds in the hole and patched it up. He then got a cup of water from his faucet and watered the spot as best he could. Satisfied with his work, Dragon threw the empty seed bag away and watched some television. Outside, the flower in Stinky's yard reacted stranger then any flower ever had. Dragon heard a loud squeaking noise. Startled, he went outside to assess the noise.

It was Felicity. She was staring at Stinky's yard, eyes wide, mouth open. She glanced at Dragon, "Dragon! Look! I was just going to visit Stinky and this appeared right in front of my eyes!" She pointed at Stinky's yard. Dragon glanced and gasped. The flower was sitting motionless in Stinky's yard. It was full grown.

"Did you do that, mimimi?" Felicity asked. Dragon shook his head, "No." he lied. Of course he didn't know how that happened. He just planted the seeds. No flower should grow that fast.

Inside the store, Tom was cleaning. He looked at the stack of flower bags. That was odd. There were 5 there. Dragon had come in and bought one so there should've been 4… Tom then snapped his fingers. "Of course. I should've realized it sooner! Silly old me, yes?" He went back to cleaning his store, acting like everything was normal.

Stinky exited his house, yawning. "Waz all the noise about?" He said sleepily. He looked at the flower in his yard.

"Say… Dragon, did you plant this, GAAHHH?" Dragon was still standing there, Felicity by his side, who was still in shock. Dragon nodded. Felicity glared at him.

"You told me you didn't!"

Dragon rolled his eyes, "I meant I didn't make it grow that fast! I just planted it!"

Felicity looked away in the opposite direction. "Yeah, sure, mimimi." Dragon made an annoyed look and looked back at Stinky, who was staring at him.

"You mean it grew right after you planted it?" Stinky asked. Dragon nodded, a puzzled expression on his face. _At least he's not asking why I even planted it in the first place. It was just to clear out the smell. That's all. _

Stinky sat down silently and looked at the two of them. "Y'know, this could be one of those ten famous tricks of Portrait!"

Felicity looked at him. "Oh! I heard about those! That's like Portrait's big legend!" Dragon stayed quiet. Stinky glanced at him.

"Sit down Dragon. You too Felicity." Dragon sat impatiently. _Oh boy, I get to hear a story. Fun. _Felicity sat down so they were in a triangle. Stinky stared at Dragon.

"You're new here, so you probably don't know, but this town has a legend about it. It's called the ten tricks of Portrait, or if you'd like, the ten wonders of Portrait."

Dragon stared back. "It's probably not true y'know." Stinky shook his head.

"It is! It's not just this occasion. It's happened a couple other times, except they were different tricks, GAAHHH."

Dragon closed his eyes. "What were they then?"

Stinky stared at the grass. "Well, one was a gigantic fish. I saw it at the waterfall with Ed once."

"That's not a trick. There's many big fish out there."

"True. But this one could talk."

Dragon still wasn't surprised. "You guys are animals. You talk."

"FISH can't talk Dragon. Animals like us can, but fish are one of few exceptions. Anyways, it could talk. Do you know what it told us?"

Dragon shrugged, "Shoot."

"It told us that we needed to keep on the lookout for changes."

Dragon raised his eyebrows. "What kind of changes?"

"He didn't say. He just said to keep on the lookout for them."

Dragon closed his eyes again. "And after that?"

"He just vanished out of thin air. This flower is one of those tricks to I bet. I'd rather not call them tricks though… more like… wonders."

Dragon shook his head, "Well I don't believe it." Stinky gestured at the flower.

"How do you explain THAT then?"

Dragon glanced at the flower. "Maybe someone wanted to play a good prank and took a full grown flower and placed it where my seeds were."

"Not true!" a familiar voice shouted. Dragon and the two cats looked behind them. Tom was standing there with a blank look on his face.

"Dragon, the flowers you planted were marigolds if I'm not mistaken. That flower is also a marigold. An animal couldn't have known what kind of flower you got. That's impossible because there was no one around you when you bought it or planted it. Coincidence? I think not." Dragon stared at the mysterious raccoon. He was at a loss for words.

"Well Dragon? It seems apparent that that flower is the one you planted, yes?"

"Maybe… so. Maybe so…" Dragon muttered. Nook smiled at the boy. Felicity crouched down and stared Dragon in the eyes.

"Y'know Dragon… I think you believe it now, hehe!" She giggled. Dragon glared at her.

"I do not!" Dragon protested. Felicity smiled at him, and Dragon felt his anger flow away for a split second. _Strange… _Felicity sat next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay to admit it Dragon." She started giggling again. Stinky smiled as did Nook.

"Yup! Just admit it Dragon. You're interested in the wonders." Stinky said.

Dragon stared at Stinky. "Maybe I am."

Felicity started laughing loudly, "AH-HA! He does believe in it!"

Dragon pointed at her, "I said MAYBE." Tom laughed to himself and walked quietly back to the shop as the three villagers playfully argued to one another.

Felicity poked Dragon in the shoulder, "MAYBE means YES, mimimi!" Dragon swiped her finger away from him. "No it doesn't. Not at all."

Stinky yawned. "Well… that's it for me. I got some stuff to do but I'll be back outside later."

Felicity yawned as well. "Yeah, me too. See you Stinky! Bye Dragon! Keep believin'!" Dragon waved to her with a blank expression. Stinky walked up to Dragon.

"Oh… and thanks."

Dragon looked at him questioningly. "Why?"

"For planting it of course. I think it's cool, GAAHHH!" Dragon looked away. "Yeah, whatever suits you. I'm not gonna be courteous like this all the time though. In fact, this is probably the last time."

Stinky laughed. "Whatever you say, man." He walked quietly back into his house. Dragon stood there alone, thinking. He then shrugged it off and left the conversation between him and the two cats behind.

**I'm thinkin' this is my longest chapter as well! Boy. Anyways, I'll try not to delay like I did previously. But hey, we'll see what happens. Tune in next time to read chapter 9… once it's uploaded. :P**


	9. Light Rain

Dragon left his house. He had just eaten lunch. All the conversation that morning made him tired. Worst of all, it was raining. And he didn't have an umbrella.

Dragon ran quickly through the rain to a tree down the hill from the store. It had apples so Dragon went for them. He quickly got under the cover of the tree and plucked three apples from their perch.

"Dragon! What're you doing in the rain, nee-deep?" Dragon turned around to see Jeremiah standing there with an umbrella. Dragon showed Jeremiah the apples.

"Oh, you're collecting fruit! That's cool! I always get as much apples as I can and make apple pie, nee-deep."

"Uh-huh…" Dragon said as he picked more apples, ignoring Jeremiah. Jeremiah poked him in the back. He quickly turned around.

"What?!" He paused as he saw Jeremiah holding out a spare umbrella. Dragon turned back to the tree.

"I don't need it."

"C'mon Dragon! You'll get a cold without it, nee-deep." Dragon sighed. "I'm fine Jeremiah."

Jeremiah walked back to his house. "Suit yourself!"

Dragon picked the last of the apples and headed to Nook's.

As he went through the opening, Nook smiled yet again.

"Selling today are you?"

"Yeah. Six apples. How much?"

"600 bells! Hand me the apples if you would." Dragon placed the apples in Nook's wooden container and Nook handed him the bells.

"Goodbye."

"Wait! I have a special Classic Umbrella for sale. Are you interested?"

"No."

"Twenty percent off y'know."

"I don't care."

"Suit yourself."

Dragon walked out into the freezing rain. _Alright. Maybe there are a few apple trees around here… _Dragon sped off to the lower part of town. He found a tree with numerous apples on it. _Ah-HA! _Dragon ran toward the tree and tripped on a rock, landing face first on the dirt.

Dragon groaned as he tried to get up, but his leg would not move. It hurt too much…

Dragon sighed at the situation. Injured, not able to move, in the middle of a rain shower. How worse could it possibly get?

"Dragon?"

Dragon looked up to see Francine staring down at him with her bunny-looking eyes. He looked back down at the ground.

"I tripped."

"Can you move?"

"…No."

"Up we go then." Francine picked up Dragon by his shoulders and supported him as the pair hobbled off to her house.

"Man, you're clumsy. If it wasn't for me, you would not only be injured, but sick too."

Dragon sighed, "I know." Francine glanced at him.

"From the looks of it, you didn't."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because I'm a villager of Portrait." Dragon closed his eyes as she settled him down on the sofa in her house. He opened one eye and stared at her.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot, karat. Dragon, if there's one lesson you learn in Portrait, it's that everyone in this town is like a entire family. To me, you're my brother, sad to say."

Dragon glared at her and massaged his injured foot. Francine went into the corner and got some ice. "Put this on it. It'll help take away the pain."

Dragon's eyes widened as the cold ice touched his bare foot. Suddenly, he realized something… He had to go deliver a gift to Hopper from Ed! He totally forgot!

Dragon groaned as he stood up. Francine had an alarmed look on her face.

"What're you doing?"

"Hopper… I need to see Hopper." Francine tried to stop him but he went on anyways.

"I'm surprised to see you here, slushie!" Hopper said. Dragon stood at the doorway, panting very hard. He collapsed on Hopper's doorstep. Hopper stood there.

"Dragon… no need to wear yourself out y'know." Hopper picked Dragon up and put him to rest on the bed. Hopper sat in a chair opposite and sipped his coffee.

"Sweet dreams."

* * *

Dragon woke up. He looked around and saw Hopper staring at him.

"You're finally awake, slushie." Dragon put a hand on his head to stop it from throbbing.

"Hopper…? What happened?"

"You came here and collapsed. No worries though. You should be fine. You might have a small cold, but your foot should be good as new. Try it."

Dragon slowly stood and applied pressure to his foot. It was fine. Dragon glanced at Hopper.

"Did you do this?"

"Let's just say it was thanks to a great invention called medicine. It worked fast it seems, slushie."

Dragon gasped. "The present! Oh man… where is it?"

Hopper held up the present, smiling.

"It was from Ed right? Thanks Dragon. With me and my old age you know… I guess I wanted him to deliver it. But he got you to do the work, slushie. Heh."

Dragon stared. "Hopper, you're not old."

"Why do you say that?"

Dragon stared off at a blank wall. "Dunno. Just a feeling." Hopper smiled to himself. "Well, thanks. Anyways, you should probably be getting home, slushie." Dragon stood, eager to leave so he didn't have to chat.

"Right…"

Dragon opened the door. The rain had stopped.


	10. Making Up

A day had passed since the accident Dragon had. He forgot all about it thankfully. Dragon went outside, wondering what stupid thing was going to happen today.

"Tom?" Dragon muttered. Tom was standing in front of Dragon's house, with an annoyed expression on his face.

"There you are! Follow me, NOW."

Dragon was too curious about what he was talking about.

"What? Why?"

"Just listen to me for once will you? Follow me."

Dragon obeyed.

They soon arrived at the front of the store. Francine was standing there, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. She noticed the duo.

"GAAH! Dragon!!!!" She yelled. Dragon stood there, with a blank face as usual.

"What?"

Francine ran up to him and slapped him in the face. Dragon glared at her.

"What the heck was that for?!"

"For not telling me if you were okay last night! I was so WORRIED!" She put emphasis on this last word. Tom stood in the sidelines, watching mutely.

"Well don't be. I can take care of myself!" Dragon snapped. Francine sighed.

"Don't you remember what I told you yesterday? Everyone in this town, including Tom, and all the other workers… we're family. Not just some dumb animals as you put it!"

"Well sorry! I'm not used to living in the country with TALKING ANIMALS!"

"**That's enough.**" Tom snapped.

Dragon and Francine glanced at him. Tom stared back.

"Francine, you on the one hand should take it easy. He was trying to get a gift to Hopper on time. Is that so wrong?"

"No but he didn't tell me if he was ok-

"No buts. Dragon is a strong kid. He could help you, me, and a lot of other people."

"Like I want to." Dragon piped in. Tom pointed at him.

"And you. You're not without guilt. Even if you're strong, stop acting like you can do whatever you want. You almost died yesterday! Luckily this town has animals in it to assist you. So you should be grateful we're even here."

Dragon stared at Tom but didn't say anything. Tom sighed.

"Now will the both of you make up? Francine. You said everyone here is as close as family. No arguments go un-resolved then."

Francine looked at the ground. "I'm… sorry… for over-reacting."

Dragon stood there silently. Tom glanced at him.

"**Dragon.**"

Dragon looked away. "Sorry for being so reckless." He muttered.

Tom looked at the two of them sternly. "Hug."

"What?" Dragon asked.

"You heard me."

Francine walked up to Dragon and hugged him. Dragon didn't hug back.

She backed away, staring into the distance. Tom smiled, satisfied.

"Now, it'll be good progress if you two can do that without me chaperoning, yes?" He laughed to himself as he walked into his shop. Dragon headed off to the river to fish. He needed quiet. Francine stood there silently.

Grabbing his fishing pole, Dragon tossed his bobber into the river and sat. Dragon hated Nook for making him do that. Like he wanted to apologize… that was more torture than peace-making.

Dragon felt his bobber start pulling under the water. He quickly reeled in the fish and pulled it out of the river. It was a small bass.

Dinner was his first thought. Dragon heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Portia. He hadn't seen her since he met her.

"Dragon, you're fishing too?" She asked. Dragon nodded slowly and stared at the river. Portia came up next to him and sat down. She also had a fishing rod. Portia threw the bobber into the river and looked at Dragon.

"I haven't seen you for a while, ruffian. Everything good?"

Dragon nodded. If anything, Portia was the kindest. But kindness was what he wanted the least right now.

Portia stared at the tiny waves in the river.

"Y'know… there's somethin' about this river." She stated. Dragon looked silently at the river. For some reason, the argument put him in a bad mood.

Portia glanced at him. "Do you think?"

Dragon continued to stare at it. "What… do you mean?" He asked. Portia smiled slightly.

"Well… I've always thought Portrait was something different."

Dragon thought about this. "Different? In what way?"

"Well, like you, I moved here not too long ago, and I was sure that this town would be somethin' special. And… I was right, ruffian. It's different then a lot of towns I've moved to all my life. I don't really know how… it just feels… magical."

Dragon didn't like Portrait at all. Something special. Yeah right.

Portia nodded her furry head to the river. "Like this river… it makes me feel so calm when I stare at it for a while, ruffian."

Dragon stared into it, and had to admit… it was making him sleepy.

He yawned and Portia laughed. "Tired?"

Dragon slowly nodded, "You were right… Portia."

She cocked her head to the side, "How so?"

"Maybe… it really is different." Dragon muttered. He wouldn't completely accept that, but maybe it was different. Right now though, it was worse than the city. Dragon still wanted to be back at his old home, but he was stuck here. Why couldn't he accept that? Well, he wasn't going to.

Portia smiled and continued to look at the river. Dragon needed sleep. His eyes were getting heavy. He stood up. "Well… you made me sleepy. Thanks a lot." He joked. She laughed again, and that laugh, the laugh of a fellow villager, brought a smile to Dragon's face. The first smile since he'd come here.

He walked away. As he was passing Stinky's house, he noticed Francine sitting in front of his. She looked up at him.

Dragon was back to his old self again. "Move. I need some sleep."

Francine glared at him and ran off to her home. Dragon stared blankly at his house. The… river? No…

Dragon shrugged the weird thought off and went off into bed, leaving the whole town behind for that one moment. And as Portia sat by the river, she fell asleep at exactly the same moment as him.


	11. The Birthday and the Lake

**Sorry to every happy reader of this story. I've been putting the update off for a time now just because I had things to do. So, if anyone was getting impatient, sorry. :P Anyways, here's my chapter. Enjoy!**

Dragon, horribly sleepy from the previous events, stayed in bed for a while. But he figured he'd have to get up sooner or later so he got up as soon as possible that morning.

He walked outside and stretched when he noticed his mailbox light was blinking. He stared at it for a minute before opening it to find a letter from Felicity.

Dragon!

Come to my house AS SOON as you get this! I got news! And if you can, try to come before 12:00 this afternoon. You'll see why!

Dragon closed the letter and threw it away. He then made off for Felicity's house wondering why animals didn't put their catchphrases in their letters.

***

"It's your birthday?"

Felicity nodded vigorously.

"YUP! March 30th is today! My birthday! I'm turnin' 14!" She exclaimed.

Dragon thought to himself, _So I did guess the age right eh? I still got it._

He said happy birthday when she gave him a pouty look.

Dragon raised an eyebrow.

"What? I said happy birthday." Dragon said, like that was enough.

Felicity shook her head fast. "Well… I have a question, mimimi!"

Dragon crossed his arms. "Question? What kind?"

Felicity looked like she had been woken up from a nap and then she blushed. "Well… uh… it's kinda embarrassing. Um…"

Dragon sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. He stared her straight in the eyes as he said, "Just tell me. It's fine."

Felicity looked away, avoiding his hard eyes. She then muttered, "Well… y'see… today is Saturday and every Saturday… K.K. Slider comes to town to-

"That wondering magician?" Dragon interrupted.

Felicity glared at him. "Not magician Dragon! MUSICIAN. He's a famous guitar player. All the animals like him."

Dragon did a face-palm. "Oh."

Felicity stared at him. "Anyways, he comes every Saturday and I asked all the animals if they wanted to accompany me to the show tonight but…"

Dragon realized instantly.

"Nobody wanted to come so you want me to right?" Dragon stated.

Felicity widened her eyes. "Oh! Uh… yeah. So…?"

Dragon stared into the distance as he thought about it. He looked back at Felicity. "Sure, BUT I'm only listening to one song. Okay?"

Felicity jumped for joy. "YAY! I didn't wanna go by myself, mimimi!"

Dragon said bye and walked away. He wouldn't normally do this, but NOONE should be alone on their birthday. Dragon wasn't THAT heartless. He walked by Portia. She tapped his shoulder. "Dragon! Question for you."

Dragon stared at her. "What?"

"Well, can you come to the lake tonight. I won't be there because I have to sleep but just come to it tonight and look at what you see. I think you'll like it."

Dragon shook his head. "I'm sorry but I'm taking Felicity to see K.K. Slider on her Birthday."

Portia smiled. "No worries. Just check it out after that! It'll be late and you have to do it when it's late anyway."

Dragon raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. "Fine. I can do that."

Portia smiled again, "Thank you! You'll enjoy it, ruffian!"

She skipped off as Dragon walked on home. He figured that the rest of the day should be spent inside until Felicity came.

***

Felicity was nearly late. She came knocking on Dragon's door at 7:59 p.m.

Dragon answered the door. Felicity was wearing a pretty, blue hairpin which tied her hair up into a ponytail. She was wearing a blue dress that sparkled in a few spots. She smiled at him.

"C'MON! It's time to go to The Roost!" She yelled.

Dragon still couldn't stand her hyperness. "Fine but…"

Felicity cocked her head to the side, "What?"

"Does it cost to see K.K.?"  
Felicity laughed at this. "Dragon, you poor ol' guy! Joking, joking." She sputtered out through her laughter.

Dragon stared at her. "Well?"

"NOPE! Doesn't cost anything, mimimi!"

Dragon let out a relieved sigh in his head. It's true. He was kind of poor. He at least had enough money to get by in any case.

Felicity grabbed him by the hand and sped off toward the museum. Come to think of it, Dragon had never visited the museum here in Portrait ever before. This was his first time.

"Slow down! You're giving me a headache!" he yelled at the speedy cat.

She laughed loudly. "NEVER!"

She ran through the museum, to the left, and down a flight of stairs.

"Here we are, Dragon. The roost." She stated. Dragon looked around briefly. The place was small for starters. It was mostly a wood room with a table set in the back and a bunch of chairs. To the right was a bar table with a pigeon behind it. The pigeon was cleaning a coffee cup.

Dragon looked forward to see a performance stage. On it was a piano and a stool, on which sat K.K. Slider himself.

Felicity squealed, a bit too loudly, and ran up to the stage.

She stopped to a fast halt in front of K.K. Slider, which Dragon had dubbed… Slider. It was faster.

Slider was a dog, white furred with enormous black eyes, a small tail, and he was holding a guitar. His ears were pointy and they slouched down onto his head.

Felicity squealed again. "Mr. K.K. Slider… er… sir-

Slider stared at her and held up a paw. "Whoa, slow down sister! Just name a tune and I'll dish it out."

Felicity's expression went down and she looked at Dragon expectantly. "Well Dragon? I… er… don't know any."

Slider smiled. "Hey, no problem girl! What about you bro?" He gestured to Dragon.

They both had their eyes on him. Dragon did what he always did when he met someone new.

_He's in his twenties…_

Dragon snapped back to reality. "Well… uh…"

Honestly, Dragon didn't know any tunes from Slider. Or maybe…

"Why don't you do, Always mine?"

Slider stared at Dragon for a minute and then widened his eyes. "Okay! I haven't played that one in a long time so don't mind if it's a little rusty, K?"

Ignoring the irony at the end of Slider's comment, Dragon said, "No problem."

Slider started tuning his guitar. "Well don't just stand there my peeps! Take a seat!"

Dragon and Felicity took their seats at the large table. K.K. Slider cleared his throat.

"What's the occasion if ya don't mind me asking?"

Felicity waved her arm in the air. "It's my B-day!"

Slider nodded up and down. "Cool. Alright then."

He cleared his throat again and he started the song.

"I was walkin' down Portrait's street…"

"Until baby, the time comes that we meet…"

He started playing his guitar faster.

"Your beauty was enough to make me die…"

"Always mine."

He kept playing his guitar in a beat that Dragon had to admit was catchy. The song went on for about 4 more minutes with him singing until eventually, he ended the song.

"Well, that's all I got! Here's a tune for you birthday-girl." He tossed a CD case to Felicity which she caught and smiled at. It was a special K.K. Slider CD for that specific song.

"Thank you Mr. K.K.!"

***

Dragon and Felicity left the museum, CD in hand.

Felicity turned to Dragon, "Thanks Dragon! My birthday wasn't such a drag, mimimi."

Dragon nodded. "Well, I have to go home. Gotta get some sleep." He lied. He was actually going to check out the river after she left.

She smiled. "Kay!"

She walked back to her house as Dragon stood there. He turned around and walked to the river. When he arrived, he looked at it.

It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. The river, the damp, murky, dirty river of Portrait, was sparkling like a net of stars. He looked up at the sky. It was a starry night. He then looked back down at the river. The glow reflected off of his pupils.

_That makes 3 wonders now…_

_1 was the magically growing flowers…_

_2 was the talking fish…_

_And now this._

He stared hard at the river. He didn't know if this was a wonder or not, but he counted it as one.

He walked off to his home and repeated in his head, _That makes three, that makes three._

**Just a quick side note, everyone notice how the last chapter's name, "River of Stars" kind of goes along with the end of this chapter? Well, I kind of had a messup when updating that last chapter and originally it had this 'STARRY RIVER' part in it. But since it screwed up, I moved that part to this chapter, so if anyone's confused by that, there ya go. **


	12. Disease

**I must make a few apologies to everyone. First apology:**

**I'm sorry that I've been screwing around and not uploading anything for a couple weeks. It's been busy, but I've been lazy, so I'm sorry to any fan of the story. I'll try to keep in check on that. My bad.**

**Second apology: You've already heard it before. Sorry for getting the two previous chapter's events happening at the same time with the lake and all. I didn't mean for that to happen. Now, no more apologies. Hope you all forgive me for all of that. If you do, go ahead and read!**

Dragon slept for a while that night, dreaming about his old city. When he woke up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

He got dressed in his usual attire; a reggae shirt and purple knit hat with dark brown pants and his blue shoes.

He walked outside. The sun glared down at him. He looked over and saw Jeremiah walking around.

Jeremiah spotted him. "Yo! Dragon!"

Dragon nodded at him and started to walk away. He turned around when Jeremiah tapped him on the back.

"Yes?"

Jeremiah smiled. "Guess what, nee-deep?"

Dragon shrugged, at which Jeremiah laughed.

"Today, Nook's upgrading his store!"

Dragon didn't say anything for a minute, then he broke the silence, "Upgrading?"

Jeremiah nodded. "Yup! It's gonna be sweet. I hear it's supposed to be somethin' like… Nook N' Go now."

_Well Nook… that's a start. _Dragon thought sarcastically. He then stared at Jeremiah, "So… what? I don't have anything to do there."

"Yes ya do, nee-deep! You're gonna help me shop!" Jeremiah stated.

Dragon shook his head, "No. I don't have time Jeremiah."

Jeremiah raised a finger, "Ah but I think you do. Usually all you do everyday is either sleep or collect apples. You ain't that busy, nee-deep."

Dragon closed his eyes. _Grr… he found me out. It's true. That's always what I do, if it's not talking with these __**animals.**_

Dragon opened his eyes. "Fine… but not for too long."

Jeremiah cheered. "Good, c'mon!"

Dragon's eyes widened, "What?! Already?!"

Jeremiah nodded and rolled his eyes at him like it would be common knowledge.

"C'mon Dragon! Turns out, Nook upgraded it early and stuff, nee-deep!"

Dragon sighed. _Stupid Nook. If he had upgraded it today, it would've been closed no doubt. Then I wouldn't be stuck with this goofball… _

Dragon walked up to the new store with Jeremiah. It was bigger was the first thing he noticed. It was made of a solid white stone and had a big gray sign on the front that said,

NOOK-N-Go! If you can't find anything here then you need an eye doctor, yes?

Dragon suppressed a laugh at the fact that the stupid raccoon had actually wrote 'yes?' up on it. Jeremiah opened his mouth,

"OOOOO! This place looks **awesome!!" **

Dragon rolled his eyes.

_Stores in my old city beat the pants off this old junk house. _

Jeremiah gestured toward the door for Dragon and walked in.

Dragon widened his eyes. _It actually has a door. Heh. That's a __**very **__fancy improvement. _He couldn't help but insult the store for all the things the raccoon had done to him.

He walked in and checked it out. It had lines of tables with different supplies on them and they had increasingly more items than the last one did. Jeremiah was off in a flash. The guy had way too much energy at nighttime. While he browsed the stores supplies, Tom walked up to Dragon and waved.

"Ah, hello Dragon. It's been a hectic week, yes?"

Dragon stared back blankly. _You wouldn't even believe it raccoon. _

He yawned a little, "Yeah. Guess it was."

Tom smiled and turned to Jeremiah, who had some plant bags in his hand. "I'll take these!"

Tom smiled and started the selling process. Dragon walked away when he noticed outside the store was Francine, on the ground, tears streaming out of her eyes. He ran outside. Francine was sobbing. Dragon walked up.

"Francine? Francine. Francine!" Dragon yelled. He grabbed her by the shoulders and stared her in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

She sniffled and pointed down the hill. "It's… it's Bones…"

"What about Bones?"

Francine started crying more. "He's… not moving! He's lying on the ground and not moving! PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!!!" She screamed. Tom looked outside, noticing what was happening. Jeremiah wondered. They both walked outside. Dragon didn't wait for them. He rushed down the hill to the area where Bones was.

Sure enough, Bones was lying on the ground, outside of his house, not moving. Dragon ran up to him. Bone's eyes were wide open, and they had a fearful look. His mouth hung loose. Dragon screamed, "BONES! ANSWER ME!"

Bones stayed mute. Dragon started crying. "Dammit, Bones! Stay with me here!"

Bones still stayed in his dead state. Tom rushed up behind Dragon.

"No way… what happened?"

Dragon looked around frantically. "I don't know!!!"

All of the sudden, Dragon's vision blurred. Everything was negative colored, and all he could hear was a loud beep that didn't break in the sound. Something was wrong. He heard a clock ticking in the background. It sounded ear splitting every time it chimed. Tom was in front of Dragon's view, saying something, but Dragon couldn't hear what. All he could hear was the beeping… and the chiming. He looked at the spot where Bones was, and the spot was empty. He looked to his right. Bones stood there, but he was normal colored, unlike all of the negative colors around Dragon. He walked up to Dragon and stared at him.

Dragon stood up.

"Bones… what… what is happening?"

"Ah, don't worry about me. I'm sick."

Dragon's eyes got wide. "You're sick? Then I should be worried about you!"

"Nah, I'll be fine. This happens usually once every month. But… this one was worse than most. But I'll be fine. Now, get me to a hospital. Please.

All of the sudden, Dragon's vision went back to normal and he could hear normally. Bones was still lying on the ground unmoving beside him.

Dragon looked at Tom and Francine's worried faces and yelled,

"WE NEED TO GET TO A HOSPITAL!"

**And so ends this chapter. I planned this event out since I started the story. Don't worry. If you fans are biting your nails over what's gonna happen next, I have good news. I'm gonna try to update the next two or three chapters consecutively on Saturday or Sunday just to make up for the big delay I was causing. Thank you, and see you next chapter! **


	13. Respect

***Breaths out * Man, School is out! Yes! This means plenty of time to work on my stories. It'll still be slightly hectic with me hauling my memory stick with me everywhere I go this summer, but I'll manage! Woot for Summer Break! :D**

_A few days later after the events in Chapter 12…_

Dragon quietly got off the bus to the city. Tom quickly escorted Bones to the hospital a few days ago, and told Francine and Dragon to stay behind for reasons unknown. So, basically everyone in the town had been biting their nails about whether or not Bones would be alright. Dragon and Francine had made up, and were now at a terms of somewhat of a friendship.

That day though, the hospital was done treating Bones, and visitors could now see him. The whole town was letting Dragon see Bones first, just because Bones best friend was technically Dragon.

So Dragon trudged along to the hospital, slightly worried, and slightly feeling a sense of ambience for an odd reason. This was his first time at the city near Portrait. Now THIS place seemed better than Portrait. Ah well.

Dragon found the hospital and went in. He found a clerk at the welcome center desk. Dragon walked up to her and she smiled at him. She was a slightly purplish cat.

"Hello, sir! What are you here for, appointment?"

Dragon shook his head, "Nah, just visiting a friend."

The clerk nodded her head. "Okay! Just tell me the patient's name and I'll have Tammy here lead you to the room!"

Dragon restrained himself from doing a face palm. He didn't understand why a clerk could be so peppy in a freakin' hospital. Dragon shook the thought off.

"His name is Bones."

The clerk searched the B's in her file cabinet until she found Bone's folder.

"Alright! He's in room 109. Tammy!"

One of the other receptionists, a squirrel, got up and nodded down one of the halls, indicating for Dragon to follow her.

They walked down the hall, the only sound being their loud footsteps on the hard floor. The hospital was very dimly lit. Tammy stopped in front of a door leading to room 109. She gestured, and Dragon entered.

The room was small, but looked comfy. Bones was lying on a bed, drinking some OJ.

He widened his eyes when he saw Dragon.

"Dragon?! Wuh- I mean wha- why are you here?"

"To see ya of course."

Bones cocked his head to the side. "Where's everyone else?"

"They wanted me to come first, so I did."

"Oh! Well, thanks for that."

Dragon looked to the side for a minute, not knowing what to say, but then he piped up,

"So… a monthly disease huh?"

Bones face turned to shock. "How-how did you know about that?"

Dragon recalled the ghost like Bones telling him this. Dragon started,

"You… prolly won't believe me but… when you were laying there, everything around me seemed to turn ghost like. And all of a sudden, I saw you, standing there staring at me. You told me about the disease, and that you needed to get to a hospital. Then the ghostly you went away and… yeah…"

Bones stared a Dragon hard. "I believe you… but man… what could it have been?"

Dragon stared at the ground, _One of the ten wonders? Nah… couldn't be…_

Bones looked away for a second.

"I have some bad news for you though…" Bones stated.

Dragon looked up.

"Bad news? What is it?"

Bones looked back at Dragon and his face took on a sad look.

"Uh… I don't know how to say this…but…"

Dragon sighed. "Spit it out already Bones."

Bones sighed as well. "Alright. Um… I'll be moving back home… tomorrow."

Dragon stared at Bones for several minutes, not saying anything.

"Y-You're serious?" Dragon asked.

Bones nodded. "Uh… yeah. My parents wanted me home. I gave them quite a scare, with this and all. They said I'm just still too young to be out on my own."

Dragon shook his head, like this was a dream that he wanted to flick away.

"I thought you said your parents abandoned you."

"They did. That was just cuz they didn't have the money to take care of me, but they see it was a wrong decision and… well… I'm goin' home tomorrow."

Dragon sat on the floor. "But… why? Portrait could take better care of you now…"

Bones shrugged, still wearing the sad expression. "I'm sorry buddy… it can't be helped."

Dragon punched the ground, "Damn it…"

Bones stayed quiet.

Dragon looked up and sighed, "Sorry, sorry."

Dragon stood and stared hard at Bones.

"Uh… Bones?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… well… I'm gonna miss you man." Dragon extended his hand to Bones.

Bones was surprised but recovered quickly and got up from his bed. He then hugged Dragon, and said,

"Don't worry! I sent you a letter while I was here, telling you my home address, so you can still write to me! Of course, I already know yours."

Dragon hugged Bones back.

"Thanks… thanks a lot."

Bones smiled at him. "Hey, you were like my bestest friend at Portrait! I was nine years old, in a new town. Not many people got acquainted with me, eh? Thanks for being my friend!"

Dragon kept forgetting how young Bones was. Dragon smiled at him.

"Hey, I promise I'll write."

Bones laughed. "Cool!"

And with that, the two boys separated.

Dragon arrived back at Portrait, with a sadness in him that Bones was moving away. Bones really was the only animal in the town that Dragon respected. Everybody else… meh.

All in all, Dragon was surprised with himself that he even respected one of the animals. Bones was different. It took guts for Bones to actually stay at his own home, and not go looking for a place to live with someone. He stayed on his own. That earned his respect from Dragon. No stupid animal in Portrait would ever be the kind of animal Bones was.

Dragon got off the bus. All of Portrait was gathered waiting for him. Kappn', the bus driver, yelled to them,

"Am I pickin' ya'll up?"

Everyone yelled back, "YES!"

They then looked back at Dragon. Felicity piped up,

"Well? How was he? Huh, huh? Tell me, mimimi!"

Dragon shook his head. "Go. You'll find out. Just expect some news."

Everybody nodded and boarded the bus. Tom was the last one on. He turned to look at Dragon and called out,

"Hey, Dragon."

Dragon turned. "Yeah?"

Tom smiled, "Enjoy yourself."

Dragon kept his face blank and nodded. Tom laughed and boarded the bus.

Dragon sighed. _Stupid, creepy Raccoon…_

Dragon went over to his yard, set out a blanket, and he sat on it and stared at the clouds, oblivious to everything around him.

**Man, working on this chapter while eating Gummy Bears. XD Very fun. Expect the delay for the next chapter to be shorter than the last two. Since it's summer, not only do I have plenty of free time to work on this story, but I'm in an awesome mood! Stay tuned for the next chapter. Leave a review with advice or compliments or criticisms, whatever. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be relaxing. :P**


	14. Fireworks and Dates

**And the story continues! I was on a church retreat for a week so I had no time to update, but it gave me some brainstorming time to think up more ideas. Enjoy. :D**

The animals had all gotten back a few hours ago. They were all glum at the news that Bones was moving the very next day. In fact, the more saddening fact was that Bones already had all of his stuff delivered to him, so that trip to the hospital was basically their goodbye. Bone's house was bare and empty now. And Dragon didn't set a foot inside it. It gave him the creeps for one thing and just made him very sad.

That particular day was cloudy. The animals wanted some sun, but Dragon was happy that it was cloudy. He liked cloudy, breezy weather. It gave him a sense of ambience in his mind.

Dragon was perched on a tree. It was June 28th today. Almost July. Dragon had moved here on… June 17th or 18th. He had been at Portrait almost two weeks. Ugh. Dragon removed the thought. No need to keep tabs.

Hopper walked up to the tree Dragon was on and called up to him,

"Dragon! Mind throwing me an apple, slushie?" Dragon picked a ripe apple from the tree and dropped it down to Hopper's fins.

Hopper smiled. "Thank you! Gives me a little pay at the store. Hey, can I ask you something?"

Dragon looked down. "Uh… go ahead."

"Alright. Well, today is June 28th right, slushie?"

Dragon nodded.

"Okay then. My question is, are you celebrating Independence Day on July 4th?"

Dragon stared back, not understanding, then asked, "Independence Day?"

Hopper's eyes widened. "Are you seriously asking what it is, slushie?!"

Dragon nodded, "Uh… yeah. What is it?"

"You must not get out much!"

"Shut up." Dragon snapped.

"Sorry. But don't you see the fireworks on that day?"

Now that Hopper mentioned it, Dragon remembered seeing those fireworks on that day. He always ignored them after seeing them though. So that day was a holiday…? For what…?

Hopper started, "That subject aside, we're having a fireworks show over the big lake on July 4th! You should be there! Everyone will, slushie."

Dragon looked over at the big lake, a short distance from the two villagers.

That was the lake… that Portia talked about… the one that lit up at night. Oh man… combine that with fireworks and… wow.

Dragon nodded. "I guess I'll come. Not very long though."

Hopper shrugged, "Eh, better than nothing. Tom's bringing snacks and drinks, and Crazy Red will be there handing out whirligigs, slushie."

"Crazy Red? Who's that…?"

Hopper laughed. "Ah, man, I have a lot to teach you, slushie! Crazy Red is a fox who sells some crazy stuff down at the city! But the guy overprices a lot of his things. He only let's members of his club buy his stuff. You need a ticket."

Dragon shook his head. "The guy sounds freakin' shady."

Hopper nodded, "I guess you could say that, slushie."

Dragon hopped down off the tree. Hopper stared at Dragon, then started,

"So, are you bringing anybody to the lake that day?"

Dragon stared back. "Eh…? What do you mean, bringing anybody?"

Hopper winked. "Y'know. A date, slushie?"

Dragon shook his head. "You got the wrong idea there. I don't date."

Hopper's eyes got wide. "What is wrong with you? You don't DATE? Everybody dates. Except me. I'm too old now, slushie."

Dragon did a face palm. "You're not old Hopper. What about you? Are you bringing anybody?"

"Haha! No. The girls in Portrait are too young for me, slushie."

Apparently, Hopper ignored Dragon about the whole old age thing.

Hopper continued, "But why don't you date?"

Dragon shook his head. "I don't need to tell you crap about why. It's none of your business."

"C'mon! Please! It'll be between us, slushie."

Dragon shook his head, but out of some weird urge, he started talking. He didn't know why. It just happened.

"I dated a girl not too long before I moved to Portrait. But, uh, it didn't go so well."

Hopper closed his eyes and nodded. "Ah, the ol' breakup eh? Probably didn't like that attitude of yours!" Hopper winked.

Dragon glared at him. "What the freak does that mean? You got somethin' to say?"

Hopper nodded. "Exactly my point, slushie."

Dragon looked away, fuming. "Anyways, we broke up. And I decided not to date. It's just not worth the heartbreak, in my opinion. That, and I'm a human. You all are animals. It's a bit awkward."

Hopper nodded. "I can understand that. But there's someone out there for everyone kiddo! And besides, you've never thought of Human-Like-Female-Animals attractive, slushie?"

Dragon narrowed his eyes. "No. Not really."

Hopper waved it off. "Okay. Okay. I need to get going Dragon, because I will be preparing for Independence Day, slushie!"

With that, the penguin waddled off.

Sure, the female animals here did have all the traits, body features, and qualities of an actual HUMAN girl. But it was still awkward either way. And besides that, Dragon didn't date anymore, period.

Dragon grabbed an apple, started eating, and walked to his house to get some sleep.

**Well, c'mon. I had to break in some dating things to Dragon in this. It's fun pushing it all on him. XD I love being the author. I HAVE CONTROL. XD jk**

**Get ready for the next chapter. I'm debating whether I'll skip ahead to July 4****th****, or just fill in the days in between. If anybody wants to, gimme an opinion in your review, if you leave one that is. And with that, I'm out. **


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